Polish president wants parliamentary election held on Oct.13

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, left, greets German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on a two-day visit to Poland for political talks and for the Sept. 1 anniversary observances of World War II Warsaw Rising of 1944, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president says he wants the country’s parliamentary election to be held on Oct. 13 after a short campaign season but still needs approval for that from the state electoral body.

President Andrzej Duda said Friday on Polsat TV that he has asked the State Electoral Commission to approve Oct. 13 as the election date and to set a campaign calendar. Duda will officially announce the election date when the commission replies next week.

He said he chose an election date soon after summer vacations to prevent a lengthy electoral campaign, claiming that is always a time of “political clashes.”

The election will decide whether Poland’s right-wing, nationalist ruling party, which has often clashed with the European Union leaders, will keep its majority control of the Polish government through 2023.

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